Showler and Showler

by Hannah Showler•27th April 2012

An interview with Hannah Showler, Creative Director of Showler and Showler design agency.

Q. Hannah, where did you study design?

A. I studied at the University of Brighton

Q. Did you work in a company before setting up your own business?

A. My husband Tom has always worked for himself since graduating, launching our design consultancy company now called Rocket Base in 2001 and I came on board in 2006 when we launched Showler and Showler and introduced our greetings cards, canvases and mugs range. We have recently relaunched the company with a fresh new look and website, designed by Tom, selling our new prints and postcards range. I previously worked for the children's clothing company Toby Tiger as a production manager and design assistant.

Q. How did you think of the images that you created for your cards and prints - where did the inspiration come from?

A. We share a love of colour and clean lines and our designs reflect this. Our inspiration is all around us, I can't really pinpoint exactly where it comes from, it may be a combination of colours we see together or a page of a book or some packaging on a product. We enjoy reading design blogs such as Print and Pattern, Baby Style File, Bloesem and magazines such as Elle decoration and Sweet Paul. We have a 4 year old boy and enjoy drawing, reading and creating together, he is great source of inspiration. When we have the time we also love to browse book and stationery shops.

Q. When you set up Showler and Showler how did you find the route to market? Did you go to fairs and sent cards out to magazine editors, or did you just rely on the Internet?

A. We started off by going to Trade Fairs but now mainly rely on the Internet, selling on our website and using social networking such as Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. With the recent relaunch we have had a really good response from blogs and magazines that have featured our work.

Q. Tell us about the production process - do you make a pencil drawing first or is the work all done digitally? What media do you use?

A. My designs start off as pencil drawings that are then worked on digitally using Adobe Illustrator. Tom prefers to work direct on his Mac using his pen and tablet.

Q. Where are your cards and prints actually made? Do you use a British firm?

A. Our cards and prints are all printed locally in the UK.

Q. Do you use social media for selling your work and do you find it an efficient marketing tool?

A. Social media has been very helpful to us, and we have found it to be a great way to promote and sell our work.

Q. What future plans do you have for the business?

A. We have many ideas for new prints designs and a few exciting projects in the pipeline. We are always on the look-out for new collaborations, our designs are available for commission and we are looking for great ways to get our designs on textiles and ceramics too. We offer our prints and cards wholesale and would love to build on this as well.

About the Author

Hannah and Tom Showler are the founders of the design agency Showler and Showler in 2006, designing and creating prints, cards, canvases and mugs. They also founded the creative web design company Rocket Base. You can see their work at www.showlerandshowler.com and at www.rocketbase.co.uk or follow them on Twitter: @sholwerart and @rocketbaseuk